Participants of the Youth Forum

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By Aabigayle McIntosh

Delegates who attended the inaugural Global and Youth Action summit held over the weekend have declared the event a resounding success.

The event, held at the University of the West Indies Five Island Campus was organized by the Ashley Lashley Foundation, UNICEF, and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, brought together over eighty delegates from the Caribbean, the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South-China Seas (AIS), and Pacific regions.

it gave young people from within small island developing states an opportunity to have their voices heard on matters of climate justice and other factors affecting their livelihoods.

Lutrell John of Antigua and Barbuda said he was elated to get the opportunity to share what they are passionate about and the changes they wanted to see.

“I was advocating for global warning,” he said.

Luke James Trim from Tobago said,” This was an exhilarating conference, we appreciated the opportunity to build our capacity and learn”.

“Seeing the youth voices actually coming to live was such an amazing feeling,” a representative from Barbados also explained.

Antigua Youth Parliamentarian Esquire Henry stated,” It demonstrated our capabilities as young persons to lead and also to actively participate in dialogues”.

Principal of the UWIFIC Professor Justin Robinson said the forum provided a unique opportunity for Antigua and Barbuda to portray itself on the worlds stage and really advocate for the most important issues which is really climate change and how we adopt to it.

“Over the last two days we showcase our organizational skills, we have a credible call for action and most importantly the young people who are going to have to live with the planet are at the center of the deliberations and they now have an awareness of the scale of the problem and the possible solutions that did not exist years ago,” Robinson said.